THE PEOPLE of Bolton have given us their opinions on the news that it is ‘highly probable’ there are Omicron cases in the town.

Residents we spoke to were mixed on what they thought of the news, and also on their views on the reintroduction of masks in shops and public transport which came into force yesterday.

Daniel Mather was sceptical of the new variant and believes that the whole Covid pandemic is a hoax.

He said: “To be honest I don’t believe in Covid or any of these variants, I think that there is a whole government conspiracy going on.

“I’ve got this mask on now because I’ve just come out of the clinic, so they gave it me to wear, but I don’t wear masks me. So far I’ve not caught nothing in the couple of years and I don’t see why that would change.”

Marie Perry had opposing views of the new variant arriving in Bolton.

She said: “Well it’s very scary, I’m just hopeful that everyone will wear their masks and get their jabs.

“I think everybody should be ultra-careful and just keep an eye on it.”

Elizabeth Riley believes that this is just the start of a large number of people contracting the new variant.

She commented: “I think Omicron is going to be getting everywhere soon, unfortunately.

“I think restrictions might get harsher, but you can’t really do a lot about it.

“If restrictions need to get harsher then so be it, we already have to wear masks in shops and on public transport so it’s not the end of the world, is it?”

Finally, John Garside was concerned long-term following the detection of the new variant.

He explained: “I think this is going to be with us for quite some time. It’ll be like the flu we’ll have a new jab out every year.

“I’ve been on the bus this morning and I was amongst only four people that had masks on, everyone else didn’t.

“I don’t think masks should have been dropped in the first place, they should have been carried on. It might be why we’re here now.”